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 Thanks to my good friend Square for the banner image! Tekken is a fighting game series developed by Bandai Namco, with its first entry released in 1994. Like many other franchises in its genre, much of Tekken’s plot was originally isolated into character endings for its arcade modes, but there would be a greater emphasis on a larger interconnecting story as the series went on, fleshing out character relationships and tying events together into more than just a series of fighting tournaments. By the time Tekken 4 was released, the console versions would see characters get more dedicated story modes to expand their depth and provide more context to the way they fit into the complete Tekken narrative. Tekken’s Nina Williams in: Death by Degrees is Bandai Namco’s first, and so far only, non-fighting spin-off game in the franchise. An action-adventure title developed for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, the game centers on Tekken’s Nina Williams, a famous assassin who has been hired to assist MI6 and the CIA in a sting operation to bring down the criminal organization Kometa. She is brought in as a sweeper, an undercover agent only meant to be called in for emergencies. Of course, things go wrong almost immediately, and so it’s up to Nina to save the day and discover the truth about Kometa’s plans. All in a day’s work. While not considered canon to the core Tekken story, the game does provide plenty of backstory on Nina and how she connects to various characters throughout the franchise, and attempts to flesh out what these characters do when not embroiled in a King of Iron Fist tournament. According to frequent series director Katsuhiro Harada, Nina was chosen as the lead character because she was, and continues to be, the most popular character in the Tekken series. Like its main franchise, Tekken’s Nina Williams in: Death by Degrees is focused on precision and technical combat. However, the introduction of contextual commands for the game’s exploration segments meant that the face buttons on the controller were already accounted for and could not be used for fighting. Instead, movement and dodging is handled via the left joystick, while combat is entirely handled via the right joystick. While this setup is functional and provides more player freedom than in might seem on first glance, it’s a difficult system to get accustomed to, and it often feels like trial and error to execute more complex commands. But when the combat starts to flow, it can feel satisfying to outmaneuver opponents and catch them off-guard, executing the perfect counter for the scenario. Outside of the combat, the exploration portion of the game can be fun once you start to understand the layout of the maps, with plenty of little references to the larger Tekken universe scattered throughout. Puzzles range from Resident Evil-style "take the conspicuous item to the more conspicuous location" to multiple alternate gameplay modes that test both your reflexes and your wit. A lot of effort was put into making this a fully-realized adventure and I think that shines through the rough parts of the game.  I’m special agent ChorpSaway, and I have my team of sweepers TheJayOfSpade, Taoc, and FutureFriend on backup duty. Our mission: to examine this oft-forgotten Tekken spin-off and talk about unhinged fighting game lore. FutureFriend is our resident Tekken enjoyer who’ll be helping fill in the gaps for the rest of us as we learn just what it takes to be a major competitor of the King of Iron Fist tournament. I will be completing the main campaign with a fresh save on Normal difficulty, as well as completing all of the major sub-objectives tracked by the game (fingerprints, gold coins, puzzle boxes). I will also be showing off as much bonus material as I can stand to collect. Also, please do not post story spoilers in the thread. If you wanna talk about Tekken lore that’s fine, but anything pertaining to Tekken’s Nina Williams in: Death by Degrees specifically should be saved until we see it in the LP.         
ChorpSaway fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Apr 28, 2024 |
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Apr 7, 2024 18:33
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I have an unreasonable love for this game, it's a mess but the non-horror survival horror structure and chain throws does a lot for me.
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Apr 7, 2024 22:02
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I'm trying to figure out what sort of niche they were going for by watching the gameplay and all I can tell so far is "we were having fun making things" And honestly that's a positive trait in a game
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Apr 7, 2024 23:56
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I can't wait to be "tekken" for a ride.
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Apr 8, 2024 00:04
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While it definitely has less grease, this gives me strange Parasite Eve 3rd Birthday vibes. Enjoying the commentary gang's chemistry so far, though.
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Apr 8, 2024 00:46
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Can't believe they made a spinoff Tekken game and it's not about King or Kuma. It's like they wanted it to fail! 
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Apr 8, 2024 02:39
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PurpleXVI posted:Parasite Eve 3rd Birthday vibes. On the other hand, generic sexy action heroine who goes from bikini to evening dress. And from the attract reel, generic purple spy-catsuit is painfully generic and you can tell a lot about how this game was being sold. Especially the camera angle and animations for the 'hide' motion during the sniper section.
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Apr 8, 2024 03:21
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Nina does not have the mind of a ten year old in this game so anything that happens to her here is better than 3rd Birthday
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Apr 8, 2024 06:39
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God, the buttrock combat music is so good and so evocative of this specific era of games (or even era of media in general). Thrilled to see y'all back.
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Apr 8, 2024 17:27
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Nina can stealth neck break me any day of the week
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Apr 8, 2024 22:54
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Shei-kun posted:I'm trying to figure out what sort of niche they were going for by watching the gameplay and all I can tell so far is "we were having fun making things" yeah, i think overall i probs am not as positive on the game as i could be, but i have to respect its sheer amount of mechanical excess. i atleast think we as a world of gamers shouldve supported the tekken spin-off. TwoPair posted:Can't believe they made a spinoff Tekken game and it's not about King or Kuma. It's like they wanted it to fail! they did the science. gamers everywhere ranked nina williams and her many acts in the IRA as the number one popular thing in 2005. unfortunately the death of pope john paul the 2nd left the world in mourning, and unwilling to give the game its proper success. Nissin Cup Nudist posted:Nina can stealth neck break me any day of the week uh-huh yeah man for sure
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Apr 8, 2024 23:22
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So the only result I got from Namco developed horror games is Splatterhouse, but that's more of a beat em up than a survival horror game. And the first game in the series came out in 1988 as well. After that I there's just Bandai Namco titles.
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Apr 10, 2024 01:41
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Cooked Auto posted:So the only result I got from Namco developed horror games is Splatterhouse, but that's more of a beat em up than a survival horror game. and splatterhouse ftw. so look forward to the otaku trash machine apology video for this grave ignorance
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Apr 10, 2024 02:29
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Shei-kun posted:I'm trying to figure out what sort of niche they were going for by watching the gameplay and all I can tell so far is "we were having fun making things" This only becomes more prominent as the game continues. They clearly had a lot of ideas for what Tekken's Nina Williams might need to do on a mission and they implemented all of them, and it's incredibly cool. This is why we need a new Tekken spin-off around Kunimitsu or Doctor Bosconovitch or any other Tekken character where they can try out some new stuff. berryjon posted:On the other hand, generic sexy action heroine who goes from bikini to evening dress. And from the attract reel, generic purple spy-catsuit is painfully generic and you can tell a lot about how this game was being sold. Yeah, as stated from the Tekken wiki, "Nina has been a fan favorite from her debut, owing to her speed, lethal moves, and chain throws." And this game is chock full of these things, which is what the fans of the most popular Tekken character wanted. FutureFriend posted:they did the science. gamers everywhere ranked nina williams and her many acts in the IRA as the number one popular thing in 2005. unfortunately the death of pope john paul the 2nd left the world in mourning, and unwilling to give the game its proper success. Can't wait for the next big anniversary project when we'll get a new Tekken's Nina Williams game where Nina return to her roots and helps to liberate Northern Ireland from the UK.
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Apr 11, 2024 16:38
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Throwing Thatcher into the volcano
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Apr 11, 2024 17:23
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Turns out she was in reality Margaret Thatcher-Mishima has come back from the dead to once more to curse England.
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Apr 11, 2024 17:30
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Cooked Auto posted:Turns out she was in reality Margaret Thatcher-Mishima has come back from the dead to once more to curse England. The devil gene has some hard coded thoughts about economic policies
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Apr 11, 2024 17:56
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I don't know anything about Tekken aside from the names of maybe 8 characters so I can't tell what's a joke and what isn't. Is Nina the most popular character? I have no idea.
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Apr 12, 2024 23:46
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 UPDATE TIME! The espionage mission is officially underway and Tekken's Nina Williams has already been given a difficult task: find their missing CIA operative John Doe! Fortunately, John has a GPS device on him that allows Nina to see exactly where he is on the boat right now. Unfortunately, the cruise ship is a veritable labyrinth, full of twists and turns and locked doors with elaborate puzzles and systems attached to opening them. But this is all in a day's work for the world-renowned assassin, so let's track down our missing person! RareAcumen posted:I don't know anything about Tekken aside from the names of maybe 8 characters so I can't tell what's a joke and what isn't. Is Nina the most popular character? I have no idea. The info may be a bit out of date, but I believe this was reported as the reason the game was made with Tekken's Nina Williams in the lead role, and that no character ever came close to dethroning her. She's still probably one of the most popular characters in Tekken but I haven't kept up enough to know if someone else is #1.
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Apr 14, 2024 18:01
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ChorpSaway posted:The info may be a bit out of date, but I believe this was reported as the reason the game was made with Tekken's Nina Williams in the lead role, and that no character ever came close to dethroning her. She's still probably one of the most popular characters in Tekken but I haven't kept up enough to know if someone else is #1. the number 1 most popular character in tekken is negan from the walking dead now op
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Apr 14, 2024 18:51
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If Rat Boy was still part of the Otaku Trash Machine, how would he feel about the edible rats thing?
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Apr 16, 2024 06:58
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I don't know about rat meat, but you could probably do a pretty good pan sauce with the rest of that recipe.
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Apr 16, 2024 17:14
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Don’t people eat Guinea pigs? Seems like you could substitute those.
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Apr 16, 2024 20:02
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Consume an animal and take it's power... Oops I've got cancer now.
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Apr 17, 2024 11:38
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I like how in the first video, it seems that Nina went swimming with a pair of heels on.
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Apr 17, 2024 19:36
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I'm positive you can eat rats and not get cancer because you can eat rats in Metal Gear Solid 3 and Big Boss survived to a ripe old age without cancer. And Hideo Kojima would never stretch the truth and lie to me ever.
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Apr 18, 2024 19:04
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I appreciate the discussion on the validity of the world-famous Sauteed Rat recipe as seen in Tekken's Nina Williams in: Death by Degrees. We should all be more willing to step outside our boundaries and examine the possibilities of our beautiful diverse world.Leal posted:If Rat Boy was still part of the Otaku Trash Machine, how would he feel about the edible rats thing? I think he'd be proud to see the general respect for ratkind on display. TwoPair posted:I'm positive you can eat rats and not get cancer because you can eat rats in Metal Gear Solid 3 and Big Boss survived to a ripe old age without cancer. And Hideo Kojima would never stretch the truth and lie to me ever. This is very true, and I think FutureFriend should be ashamed of his words and deeds for questioning the local delicacies of the Amphitrite. FutureFriend posted:the number 1 most popular character in tekken is negan from the walking dead now op I believe this, but Tekken's Nina Williams is probably a close number two.
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Apr 19, 2024 03:30
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The thing that confuses me the most is that they specifically list it as edible rat meat in the recipe. As opposed to what??
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Apr 20, 2024 22:09
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Admiral H. Curtiss posted:The thing that confuses me the most is that they specifically list it as edible rat meat in the recipe. As opposed to what?? beyond well done meat
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Apr 20, 2024 22:22
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They serve only the finest feeder rats.
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Apr 21, 2024 01:39
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UPDATE TIME! Last time, Tekken's Nina Williams found out that the CIA operative on the mission had been killed, before Bryce Adams appeared to let her know that he'd taken his GPS tracker along with his life. Now the hunt is on as Nina tries to capture Bryce and retrieve this intel! But there are many deadly traps set up throughout the Amphitrite, and Nina's single-mindedness with the mission might lead her directly into Bryce's hands. Will she survive her next encounter with the dangerous gunman and meet back up with Alan Smithee, or is this the end of the line for the world-famous assassin? Admiral H. Curtiss posted:The thing that confuses me the most is that they specifically list it as edible rat meat in the recipe. As opposed to what?? There are no additional codec entries for this so the mystery may never be resolved. But my interpretation of the info was that there is a distinction between the edible rats (presumably bred for this purpose) and the non-edible rats (regular freeloaders on these vessels) on the ship, so they're just making sure people check the stock to make sure they're using the correct rats when preparing meals.
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Apr 21, 2024 18:30
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Slow on the updates but man that kitchen does NOT meet health and safety regulations.
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Apr 21, 2024 22:09
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I think the funniest thing is that Tekken's Nina Williams constantly has this incredibly annoyed expression on her face in all the cutscenes. Like the moment the elevator gets stuck she's already had enough of their bullshit. Also the biggest issue with Austin Powers 2000 is that it'd just be xXx with a different opening because the 00's was all about the extreme edge.
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Apr 21, 2024 22:34
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*Gets my skull blasted open by Tekken's Nina Williams* That didn't even hurt!
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Apr 21, 2024 23:58
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Also Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by the Director's Guild of America for when a director wished to disown a project, infamously brought to wider attention by the widely panned 1997 film An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn, a mockumentary about a director actually named Alan Smithee who wishes to disown a movie he worked on (the movie itself was ironically disowned by its director and legitimately credited under Alan Smithee). The movie bombed so hard that the DGA stopped using the pseudonym in 2000, five years before this game came out.
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Apr 22, 2024 00:18
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No one commented on Jay saying that Piers Morgan once played James Bond?
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Apr 22, 2024 02:26
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I was about to make some joke about Bryce getting the full 360 degrees of death, considering the arena that you fought him in, but... Eh. This game is ridiculous.
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Apr 22, 2024 11:39
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Nina's expression and the way she talks makes it feel like she should be a villain, not a protagonist. I also wish it displayed carried weapons on her model, it would be pretty funny to see her hauling around a half dozen katanas at once.
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Apr 22, 2024 23:50
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PurpleXVI posted:Nina's expression and the way she talks makes it feel like she should be a villain, not a protagonist. I also wish it displayed carried weapons on her model, it would be pretty funny to see her hauling around a half dozen katanas at once. I know nothing about Tekken lore but I have seen all Nina's endings in the series and yeah she's certainly not a hero. But she does kill people and is evidently popular so hey I guess why not kill people as a good guy.
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Apr 23, 2024 08:32
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UPDATE TIME! With the "help" of Alan Smithee, Tekken's Nina Williams has now been directed to gain the final level of access needed to explore the Amphitrite and investigate the ongoing Kometa meeting. All she needs to do is infiltrate Lana Lei's room and pull a fingerprint from her belonging, how hard could that be? That's not all she's getting up to though; Nina needs a new suit if she wants to keep things tactical, and once she has full reign of the ship she's going to want to explore everything the Amphitrite has to offer is visitors. Hopefully that meeting Nina needs to crash is running late! C-Euro posted:No one commented on Jay saying that Piers Morgan once played James Bond? Why comment on it, he was correct and he should say it. Cooked Auto posted:I think the funniest thing is that Tekken's Nina Williams constantly has this incredibly annoyed expression on her face in all the cutscenes. Like the moment the elevator gets stuck she's already had enough of their bullshit. PurpleXVI posted:Nina's expression and the way she talks makes it feel like she should be a villain, not a protagonist. I also wish it displayed carried weapons on her model, it would be pretty funny to see her hauling around a half dozen katanas at once. In her many years as an assassin, Tekken's Nina Williams has learned that "do what you love and you never work a day in your life" is a brazen lie. It's same poo poo different day in the life of Ireland's greatest assassin. Waffleman_ posted:Also Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by the Director's Guild of America for when a director wished to disown a project, infamously brought to wider attention by the widely panned 1997 film An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn, a mockumentary about a director actually named Alan Smithee who wishes to disown a movie he worked on (the movie itself was ironically disowned by its director and legitimately credited under Alan Smithee). The movie bombed so hard that the DGA stopped using the pseudonym in 2000, five years before this game came out. No spoilers but this is the actual backstory to our MI6 operative friend.
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Apr 28, 2024 18:33
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